Brutality. Fatality. These are just a few elements that make the Mortal Kombat franchise so special and important. Though not a masterpiece franchise many of the legendary brands in video gaming, Mortal Kombat has sustained a legacy over 25 years now by employing a simple strategy: innovative violence and fun characters. It has proven to be a formula that rarely misses, and the fact remains that Mortal Kombat has been one of the more enjoyable and entertaining franchises in video games since the inception. Spawning movies, merchandise, and a cult following, the MK brand is always viable. With That, we wanted to take a look at the 5 best games in the history of the franchise. What games rank at no. 1?

5. Mortal Kombat X (2015)

-There are a lot of games in this series that could have made the list, as it was tough to have to omit some of the others like Deception and Deadly Alliance, but X deserves a mention. With a very solid character lineup alongside an updated combat system, but the only issue with the game versus previous editions is that it introduces new some elements that don't necessarily work as well. The DLC has helped this game to have an amazing shelf life and longevity, and the game really is a lot of fun to work, it just hasn't been able to surpass MK9 or a few of the classics, but MKX gets the job done for fans of the franchise.4. Mortal Kombat (1992)

-The OG version is easily on the list. It's still a great game to play for nostalgia purposes and it remains fun, which is essentially the purpose of games such as these. While some would argue the evolution of the graphics and the games themselves would make this edition somewhat obsolete, the original MK is still innovative for the time it was released and it still plays pretty well today. Despite a limited character roster, a lack of combos, and of course the graphics (which were great for the time then), the game has some of the best violence ever, features one of the toughest characters to beat at the time (Reptile), and leaves you wanting more and more. Without this game and its success, there would be no franchise, thus it's a must to have this game on the list. It's that simple.3. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)

-I never really was a fan of the third edition of Mortal Kombat, but I was extremely invested in this game. It was essentially the company apologizing for the lackluster third game by giving the buying public a tweaked game with some new elements in addition to what we did like about the third one. Many people complained about the limitation of the original third edition of MK, and when UMK 3 came out, we saw remedies for those issues. Scorpion and Kitana returned, the mechanics were improved, the levels were better, but most of all, the gameplay was excellent. UMK 3 was a life saver for a franchise who released a half assed third edition at a critical time. For that alone, it deserves a huge mention in MK history.2. Mortal Kombat 9 (2011)

-Taking the Mortal Kombat brand into the next gen was one of the more easier transitions that the franchise has had in their entire run. It was seen as a reboot of the franchise and it was nearly flawless in execution. They didn't need to do much else but invoke nostalgia and execute it properly and that's exactly what they did. The truth of the matter is, there was never a reason to stray too far from the winning formula unless it was necessary, and this game hit the reset button. It took the game back to the traditional tournament style and made sure to have all the original characters from the first three editions. This is essentially the game that bridges the gap between the classic gamers and newer gamers just getting introduced to the series, as you have the same senseless and brutal violence, but with better graphics, more vicious kills, and a surprinsigly fun story mode. MK9 learned that sticking to the basics can pay off big time.

1. Mortal Kombat 2 (1993)

-In some cases, it's hard to defeat the original. Sometimes, the sequel is better than the original. This is that case. There aren't many games that can defeat Mortal Kombat 2 in terms of excitement and fun gameplay. As usual with these type of fighting games, there isn't much to the story, but that's fine, as it isn't needed. When we look at this game, it's one of the rare instances where every character is a hit with the audience and the gamers, and there was a bit of originality and innovation in this game throughout. With the exception of two characters, every character from the first edition return, and the combos were so much fun to figure out. I don't think there's a MK game in the franchise more fun than this one, more innovative than this, or better than this one. Mortal Kombat 2 is the greatest MK game ever. It's as simple as that.